The present invention relates to seawalls, and more particularly to the provision of a seawall system comprising a concrete seawall formed to have recesses and shelves thereon to provide nesting places and habitats for marine life and other wildlife normally found in the water environment.
The prior art is replete with all types of seawall constructions including, of course, poured concrete seawalls and prefabricated concrete seawalls. In some cases, concrete seawalls are poured in place upon footings which are previously poured in place. In some cases, particularly when the supporting soil structure is formed of stable rock and gravel, a seawall may be poured directly in place. In some cases, it may be possible to place a precast concrete seawall at the water edge without previously pouring a concrete footing.
The problem with seawalls of all types, including concrete seawalls, is that, while they are attractive in appearance and neatly separate the earth from the water, they are not natural surfaces to the marine life and wildlife normally found in and around the water environment.
It is an object of the present invention, therefore, to provide a seawall system comprising a concrete seawall and means for providing a footing upon which the seawall rests. The seawall of the present invention has a lower portion provided to be below the normal water level and an upper portion provided to be above the normal water level, a top, a bottom to rest upon the footing means, a back to face the earth and away from the water, and a front to face the water. The front of the seawall of the present invention has an upper front panel above the normal water level and a lower front panel below the normal water level. The seawall is formed to have a plurality of recesses in the said lower front panel providing nesting places and habitats for marine life and other wildlife normally found in the water environment.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such a seawall formed with a plurality of recesses in the upper front panel providing nesting places and habitats for birds and wildlife normally found around the edge of a body of water.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide such a seawall in which at least some of the recesses in the lower front panel extend entirely through the seawall to permit marine life and such other wildlife normally found in and around the water to have access to nesting in the earth against the back of the seawall.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a seawall in which at least some of the recesses in the upper front panel are similarly extending entirely through the seawall to permit wildlife to have access to the earth behind the seawall.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a seawall in which at least some of the recesses are formed with irregular floor surfaces and depressions for traction and for promoting growth of plant life in the recesses.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide such a seawall including means providing shelves extending outwardly from the lower front panel into the water to provide platforms upon which marine life can nest. Such shelves may be provided, for instance, by forming the seawall with horizontally elongated, vertically narrow slots into which panels of various types may be inserted to have a portion extending outwardly into the water.
A further object of the present invention is to provide such a seawall which is formed to have a ledge between the lower front panel and the upper front panel upon which bricks, stones or other decorative rocks may be placed for decorating the seawall above the water level.
Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent as this description progresses.